President Obama issued an executive order last week that would expand the pool of workers eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). You may or may not already be familiar with the overtime portions of the FLSA; in case you aren’t, we will provide you with…
The Erlich Law Office is very proud to announce the launch of its fully redesigned website. The site features detailed descriptions of our practice areas, profiles of our attorneys, and other resources, including information about our local counsel services for Virginia Federal and State Courts, a breakdown of the results we…
The Workplace Policy Institute has a comprehensive analysis of possible legislative and regulatory changes to employment law in the coming year. While the full article is certainly worth a read, here is a short summary of some of the most important points. Congress is unlikely to pass any major legislation…
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. Here is a short link expanding on a new Department of Labor rule that will have a significant impact on labor law in the coming year. As we touched on in an earlier post, the Department of Labor has been…
On December 3, 2013, the 5th Circuit issued an important new decision finding that class action waiver provisions in mandatory arbitration agreements under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) are enforceable. However, in the specific case at bar the court found that the agreement in question was unenforceable because it reasonably…
Published right before Thanksgiving, the 2013 fall federal agency regulatory plans help to illustrate what proposed and final rules are on the agenda for the coming months. The regulatory plans and fall agendas highlight agency priorities and goals and give a preview of future developments in federal employment law. At…
Sometimes, a situation arises where an employee cannot return to work after FMLA leave expires. Although different lengths of leave have been considered appropriate under the ADA, usually indefinite leave has never been looked at as a reasonable accommodation. Recently, however, the New York Court of Appeals issued a ruling…
The EEOC has filed 12 religious discrimination lawsuits in fiscal year 2013, more than in the previous year, and indicative of the increasing attention being paid to it in recent months. In general, this may be one of the areas of more frequent activity in employment law in the coming…
Particularly relevant for employers in this area, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCPP”) recently issued new rules that increase the affirmative action requirements of direct federal contractors and subcontractors. The rules require that contractors take affirmative steps to hire individuals with disabilities, along with including more stringent reporting…
Our first article this week has an interesting look at FMLA eligibility for an employee who likely didn’t work the minimum number of hours in the prior year. In particular, the question is tricky because the employee is a managerial exempt employee, and the FMLA states that employers have an…